Two months in Europe - trip report
 

Five weeks left until our summer 2012 trip to Europe (as of May 25). This post is intended to be a trip report, starting with listing set itinerary and general plans made so far, continuing with last details preparations, and finally writing a daily report of movements, activities, travel impressions, hotel & restaurant reviews, and so on.

Clarifications: 1. We love driving. 2. We've been to Europe many times before and we already visited some of our destinations. 3. We'll be back to those places that we like and cannot cover in-depth this time around. and 4. We travel on a moderate budget

So, here is the plan:

July 3 afternoon - Dad and Daughter leave Calgary on a direct flight to Germany
July 4 - get to Frankfurt airport, pick up car from Renault Euro-lease, 2 hour drive to Luxembourg city
July 5 - visit Luxembourg city
July 6 - 2 hr drive to Reims, tour a couple of champagne houses
July 7 - drive to Paris, take a short Seine cruise, then drive to Thaon, Normandy in the evening
July 8 - visit Bayeux and invasion beaches, especially the Canadian memorial at Juno
July 9 - 5 hr drive to Dinant, Belgium and spend the evening there
July 10 - 4 hr drive to Frankfurt, stop along the way
July 11 - 7 am pick up Mom from the airport, 2 hr drive to Rothenburg, spend the day and night there
July 12 - 1.5 hr drive to Nuremberg
July 13 - spend day in Nuremberg (beer & sausage day)
July 14 - 4 hrs drive to Bad Gastein, Austria, meet Cousin & his family from Romania
July 15 - 20 - spend a week in & around Bad Gastein, lots of biking & hiking
July 21 - Dad & Mom drive to Heidelberg (Cousin & Daughter drive to Romania)
July 22 - drive to Frankfurt airport, Mom goes back to Canada, Dad continues to Prague
July 23, 24 - spend 2 days in Prague
July 25 - 4 hrs drive to Vienna
July 26, 27 - spend 2 days in Vienna
July 28 - 2 hrs drive to Graz
July 29 - visit Graz
July 30 - 4 hrs drive to Budapest
July 31 - spend day in Budapest
Aug 1 - 10 hrs drive to Bucharest
Aug 2 - spend day in Bucharest
Aug 3 & 4 - Dad, Daughter, Cousin & family drive to Corfu, Greece. Overnight in Salonic.
Aug 5-10 - spend a week in Corfu. Beach stuff.
Aug 11 - Dad and Daughter hop on an overnight ferry to Italy (Cousin goes back to Romania)
Aug 12 - get to Bari in the am, 5 hrs drive to Rome airport, pick up Mom
Aug 13-15 - 3 days visit Rome
Aug 16 - 3 hrs drive to Florence
Aug 17-20 - spend 4 days in Florence/Tuscany
Aug 21 - 2 hrs drive to Monterosso
Aug 22, 23 - spend 2 days in Cinque Terre
Aug 24 - 5 hrs drive to Fiumicino
Aug 25 - drop off Mom at Rome airport, then visit Pompeii, then go to Sorrento
Aug 26 - spend day in Sorrento/Amalfi area
Aug 27 - visit Capri
Aug 28 - 12 hrs drive to Colmar
Aug 29 - visit Colmar then 1 hr drive to Strasbourg
Aug 30 - visit Strasbourg
Aug 31 - 2.5 hrs drive to Frankfurt
Sep 1 - Dad & Daughter fly back to Canada.

Wow Pinbud,

Since you have been to Europe many times, you surely must like this pace and style of travel. You must also really love driving in Europe. You really lost me with the 12 hour drive between Sorrento/Colmar. Why? You aren't taking time to see anything along the way. But I guess the car lease requires pick up and return to the same city, so there you go.

I'm kind of stumped at the back and forth with Mom, but there must be a very good reason for it.

All I can say is have a wonderful time!

Ditto about that pace! You must really like driving, because you are doing alot of it!

I'm still stuck in that first week-- that week seems almost non-stop, with little time to really see anything. I couldn't imagine driving in and out of Paris in a day with 2 relatively long drives sanfdwiching the visit....then visiting Bayeux and the beaches in one long day... Only to take another 5 hour drive the nrext day, followed by another 4 hour drive the next day....

It's one thing to like driving, but you'll barely have a chance to see anything except the car and the highway at that pace.

I know you've been there before so I guess you've considered this, but unless you are committed to this itinerary, I might consider tweaking it a bit. But I also wish you a wonderful trip! How great that you and your family enjoy traveling together like that!

Thanks, Dayle.

Unfortunatelly Mom can't take the whole two months vacation. Plus she needs to be back at work on certain days of the month. That's why she will fly twice to Europe for the Austrian then the Italian portions of the trip.

I agree, the long 12 hr drive Sorrento/Colmar is not the best vacation day but it's required so we get back to Frankfurt area.

Folks, I appreciate your concerns about the fast pace and the amount of driving and I agree it's not the usual Europe trip (4-5 days each in 3 major cities), but I'm really happy with this plan. Once I start the actual daily trip report I hope it makes more sense for the reader.

To give you an idea how much I like driving, I just drove over 6000 kms in 9 days through Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, and Utah, a couple of weeks ago. It didn't feel rushed at all, I stopped and had time to visit in a lot of places, including a full day of hiking in the Arches National Park and a Roger Waters concert in Denver.

we've done the whirlwind driving tour of Europe...12 countries in 34 days, and also of the US- 28 states in 42 days. I think that your Bari to Rome leg might be very interesting...I remember driving from Ravenna through extremely windy and twisty Italian roads with Ferraris up my tailpipe the entire way!! I think that your Fiumicino to Pompeii, to Sorrento is a bit ambitious. Pompeii deserves a fair bit of time, it's so remarkable. And so does Sorrento/Amalfi. We ended up with a week there, doing Capri and Positano from our home base in Sant'Agnello.

Well, I'm 13 countries in 60 days, I believe, and that's counting Slovenia and Bulgaria as I'm passing through them :)

and Switzerland! Also passing through.
But I did visit Switzerland properly for about two weeks a few years ago.

My head is spinning enough to get a nauseous case of vertigo. You've given a perfect example of "to each his own"..so enjoy your two months and wave mightily at the 2,000 sites you will only see as you rapidly whiz through. And as an aside, Why all that way for one day in Budapest and one day in Bucharest? Beyond me, and I've driven in every last country in continental Europe, excepting Russia (the old SSR), Ukraine and Belarus(where I eschewed any driving but enjoyed the visits).

I would guess that your moderate budget will bleed from the nose when you add up your stratospheric petrol costs, which may require a second mortgage.

Somehow, it doesn't appear that you are seeking advice..but have a very "enjoyable" trip, Calgarians..we'll wait to read your report.

Tower, nice sarcasm! To each his own indeed.

I was born in Bucharest and spent there many years. As for Budapest, I visited that city about five times already. Maybe I'm just stopping to buy my favorite tobacco? Yes, it will all be revealed in my report.

And petrol? It's a diesel. Total estimated cost for fuel is 700 euros.

<i>Buna ziua</i>, PinBud..."to each his own" is not sarcasm..merely recognizing the fact that no two people travel the same way. But, really, what advice are you seeking? It's not clear to me, or perhaps to other posters. It appears that you just want our approval for the plan.

During Ceaucescu's regime I spent "too much" time in Romania (and Bucharest)...driving. My most recent visit was 2005 while escorting 16 of my readers on a "footsteps" visit all over the country. The only reminder of "Czar Nicolae" was his cute little palace. The country has come a long way since those days, when finding petrol and food was a daily adventure. And Budapest is one of my favorite cities in that part of the continent. Are you talking pipe tobacco?

PinBud, I wished you well before and I repeat..have a great, long trip.
<i>La revedere, drum bun!</i>
stu

Multumesc Stu :)

Like I stated in the beginning, this particular post is intended to be a trip report; when I start my trip I will make some daily notes as I go. So it's not really to seek approval or advice regarding my itinerary, which is already set. However, I would of course appreciate ideas or recommendations for particular restaurants or activities in the places I'm going to visit.

I did seek advice in other specific posts, see my topics for the day in Paris and my day trip to Capri. I didn't know the best way to approach those things but now I do thanks to this forum's participants.

Thank you all very much and stay tuned ... "I'll be back".

Pinbud,

We will certainly look forward to your driving blog. No, yours is definitely not the "normal" trip. But you have your goals, you have visited many times before and seem to know what you are doing. Seems you have plenty of money to spend to do this trip too. All is well. Keep us posted.

One of my favorite bumper stickers is "Why be Normal?"

Buon viaggio!

PinBud..I learned a few years ago that Calgary had a large Romanian expat population. Couldn't pick a nicer city, one of my Canadian favorites. An acquaintance in Iasi (Yash) was thinking of emigrating there in 2005...don't know if he ever did..name Mihai Polinou.

When I was last in Bucharesht in 2005, the city was still a long way from completing infrastructure repairs...and many highways and byways were still iffy. At least no more shortages or what I dubbed as RRB's..Romanian Roadblocks, that were prevalent during Nicky's reign.

If you need a hotel in Buch, we were impressed by the boutique Hotel Opera where I put up the touring group I mentioned. In earlier times(70's and 80's), we never came across Americans, and only a few Westerners of any sort, anywhere in the country. Border crossing into Romania back then was an anxious experience.

Hope you anjoy your return, PB..

stu

"enjoy"

I wish my dad could go with you; it's right up his alley!

Have a great trip -- I look forward to your report.

Yes, there's many Romanians in Calgary. At least a few thousand came after 2005 so maybe Mihai is among them.
It's also my favorite city in Canada, maybe not as cultural as Montreal but dynamic, modern, clean and with strong economy and job growth (oil & gas, eh...) I hope it stays that way and socialism doesn't take over in Alberta too.
Negatives are long winters and longer distances to reach some travel destinations. Anyway I travel a lot but mostly to Europe and USA.

Romania is getting better for sure and it's worth a visit or two. Before WW2 it was one of the most advanced countries in Central and Eastern Europe but 50 years of communism and insanity threw it back 100 years in time.
Ceausescu may be gone now (BTW I was there in the middle of the "revolution" in Dec 89) but there's still a lot of corruption in politics and even in the day to day life. For example, the country could really use a modern and fast highway system but billions of euros dissapeared and only few kms were completed in the last 20 years or so. Now the EU changed its strategy and pays for infrastructure projects in phases as milestones are achieved, so most works stalled since it is harder to steal :(

I know Hotel Opera, I even stayed there one night for a wedding.

Pinbud, i have finally met someone who is just as crazy as myself and my husband or possibly even crazier about road trips and doing a crash course thru europe. And i say this in the nicest possible way. No malice intended in any way. Read on, and you will understand why i said that.

Hubby and I are Australians and are doing an 8 week road trip of europe and america. 4 weeks in europe and 4 weeks in america starting on the 14th june. In europe, we are going to Greece, Germany, Czech republic and Austria only. (we have done france spain and italy on another trip as well as england scotland and ireland) Sometimes i think we are crazy for the amount we are doing and some of our friends think the same but actually this trip will be the most leisurely of our 3 trips to europe. Lots of 2, 3 and 4 night stays. Sometimes i get a headache when i think of what we will be doing but have to remind myself that when we are in the moment it will be different. It will be taken step by step.

My husband is like yourself and loves driving. "Just give me the the keys and the car, I cant wait to get out on the open road" he always says.

You have made me feel relieved now about our trip because i dont think that we are not so crazy now because i have found someone who is doing a lot more than us and for that i thank you.

I will look forward to reading your report.

Have a great trip!!

I know lots of people who like long road trips, and I like them myself from time to time.

However, I never really make a plan for the number of hours driving from place to place (it's more a case of "planning to sleep in that city at the end of the day -- but the end of the day can be 3pm, 6pm or 9pm, for example). Therefore I will be particularly interested to read about how well you manage to stick to your timings -- or if you get voluntarily sidetracked or involuntarily detoured from time to time.

Oh I meant to bookmark your TR so I can see how it progresses!

Now I see where and how the Paris day fits into your larger plans. On my first read-through of your itinerary, I thought perhaps it could have been tweaked a bit - but to be honest, it took a second reading to take it all in, and I see now how it maps out. I'd only say it's too bad you don't have a tad more time at Bay of Naples/Amalfi Coast. :)

Bon voyage!

I'm looking forward to the trip report, as I'm sure you're looking forward to starting to write it! Sounds like an interesting, and unusual for Fodor's, trip. Drive safe!

Thank you all! Yes, I can't wait for this trip to start. I just paid the balance on the car lease from Renault and the villa rental in Greece. And a friend in Europe said he'll join me in Prague, Vienna and Graz and I even found rooms for him in the same hotels and rates as mine. So all major bookings are now completed. Before we leave I have to book final details, such as tickets to the Vatican and Colosseum, a pasta cooking class in Tuscany, things like these. I was just talking to someone that just got back from Italy and he gave me a great tip for when visiting the Vatican. I will share it in my TP once I do it myself :)

Today being the anniversary of D-Day, I can't wait to visit the beaches that 150,000 allied forces invaded 68 years ago. Thousands of American, British and Canadian soldiers died or were wounded there. They had it hard so we can have it easy.

Day 1 - July 3/4
Direct flight from Calgary to Frankfurt was uneventful; I didn't sleep for one second as my usual. A shuttle from the airport took us to the Holiday Inn Express - 10 mins away - where we picked up our Renault lease car around noon on Wednesday. A friendly and helpful guy handed us over a brand new Clio. Small diesel car, but fully loaded, leather and stuff, exactly what I wanted.
The drive to Luxembourg was longer than expected due to some traffic delays on the highway - 3 hrs instead of 2, but we still got to the Campanile hotel early enough for an afterwards quick drive through Luxembourg city center and for shopping for some basic necessities (like water, wine, and scotch :). Then we drove back to the hotel and had a nice, relaxing dinner.

Day 2 - July 5
We had a very good breakfast at the hotel, very early in the morning, then got on bus 16 to the city center. Then, we visited the Bock casemates and basically walked the streets and "Places" (plazas) for the next few hours. The city center is fairly small and everything is within walking distance. I agree with other reviewers that Luxembourg is not really a tourist place; however, I did find it a good first stop in Europe to relax and get over the jet lag. Food is very good though, we had lunch in the city and dinner back at the hotel again. Let me know if you need details. I apologise for the telegraphic writing style but it's late at night and I'm trying to fall sleep. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be really awake, going to Champagne. Cheers!

PinBud, congrats on beginning your journey! Glad to hear that it's so far, so good. :)

Buna ziua agin PinBud...you're on the way! Good for you. Your TR style is fine..no one wants to read terminally boring pit-stop details. Keep it coming in telegraphic style. Watch the road...I'm afraid the traffic you hit heading for Lux is a predictor of traffic throughout the continent's more populous regions and in and around the bigger cities. Things have changed.

And once again, <i>drum bun!</i>...hoist a beer at <i>Carul cu Berre!</i>

Stu Tower

Day 3 - July 6
Even though the tank was 3/4 full, before we left Lux I filled up to take advantage of what is, apparently, the cheapest diesel in Europe. Then we drove to Reims thru the Ardennes and Champagne regions. Nice.
Reims is not what I expected; other than the cathedral itself, which is huge and beautiful, I wasn't impressed by anything else I saw in the central area.
Then we had a two o'clock appointment at the GH Mumm champagne house for a tour in English, but we were a few minutes late (caught in traffic :) so we got the French tour instead. They store 25 million bottles in 25 kms of caves, very impressive. The tasting was at the end and I picked the 24E Grand Crus option, which included Mumm de Cramant and Grant Cru. Yes, it was good, and I ended up buying 2 bottles of Brut and 1 of Demi-Sec, 25E each, which are waiting to be opened in Austria when we will be more thirsty people.
Then we drove by and stopped at some of the other houses but didn't go in as some were already closed. For dinner we just had pizza (with an egg in the middle, haha), then we went to the Fasthotel in Taissy, on the outskirts of Reims. Cheap, small, but clean and practical double room for 44 E, plus 5E for a basic breakfast.

Day 4 - July 7
Well, today was a blast! We got on the A4 before 9AM and by 10.30 we were in the parkade at Notre-Dame, one hour earlier than our booked 6 hours starting at 11.30. The parking guy said no problem, so off we go walking in Paris and taking lots of pictures at Notre-Dame, along the Seine around the island, at the Louvre, in St Michel, the Latin Quarter. We took a one hr boat as planned and we got to see the Eiffel Tower. On Pont Arts I placed a lock with our names written on it, so when I come back to Paris with my wife hopefully we'll find it in the same spot.
What can I say, Paris is gorgeous and we loved it. The kid even bought a hoodie with Paris Je T'aime. After this introductory, crash course in Paris, I can't wait to come back for at least a week.
As we left, we took the Champs Elysees, drove by the Arc de Triomphe, on the A13, where 2 hrs later we got to the Auberge de la Mue hotel in Thaon, Normandy. Right in time for dinner. More tomorrow, now i have to run and get breakfast then go to the beaches.

You are giving us all the important details. Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to hearing more.

Yay, I'm so so glad that Paris was a success!! It sounds like it went exactly and even better than planned.

Here's to the rest of your trip being more of the same!
~ ggreen

We just had one of our best dinners ever after an awesome day on the invasion beaches and Bayeux today. More tomorrow morning.

It was very interesting to read your report thanks!

Thanks guys, if you have any questions for more details let me know, it's hard to include too many details in a daily report and time is short too. For example, if you come to this area in Normandy I can fully 100% recommend this hotel/restaurant: http://www.aubergedelamue.com/
Honestly the best kept secret (no more)

Day 5 - July 8
We started our day with a great breakfast at the hotel, Auberge de la Mue in Thaon, a small village between Caen and Bayeux. Fresh bread and croissants, cold meats, cheese and yoghurt, etc etc... all the good stuff. Then we hit the road and after a 15 min drive we were at Juno Beach - the Canadian memorial which we visited for an hour or so, trying to instill in the kid some history knowledge and pride of being a Canadian :) Then we continued to the Gold Beach, Arromanches with its remains of the artificial port, Omaha Beach and the American cemetery, Pointe du Hoc, and finally the Utah Beach. The highlights were definitely Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery, which is simply very beautiful and impressive. On the way we also stopped at a local farm producer of Calvados, where I did some tasting and bought a bottle of the 8 years stuff, 25E. THis whole trip, which as a continuous drive would take 2-3 hours, took us almost all day due to the frequent and long stops, but this is why I was here. I got to see some remnants of German bunkers, especially on the Pointe, I was very happy... On the way back on the highway from Utah to Caen I noticed the German cemetery, on the right, which I plan on visiting on my next trip to Normandy. We only had time for a very short stop in Bayeux, walked around the cathedral and the surrounding streets for about 15 minutes. Now that's on my future to do list as well, obviously to see the tapistry too. We got back to the hotel - which is by the way in a very old, nicely renovated farmhouse - at 8.30 when we had planned our dinner. It was so good that my 12 yo daughter declared that it was her best meal ever. She said that she now finally understands what the big fuss is about having some good food in Europe. To me that is really something and I am very proud of her discovery.

Day 6 - July 9
Started with another super breakfast at the Auberge - I think the kid had at least 4 chocolate croissants, fresh from the oven. Sorry to leave Normandy, which is now on my top of the list together with Bavaria, we were driving again and after a couple of hours we got to Amiens to see the cathedral, which is probably the best I've seen so far. Doesn't seem as big as the one in Reims but it is the tallest and has the largest interior of the cathedrals in France. The inside is simply a masterpiece, lots of artwork, as the cathedral is a Unesco World Heritage Centre.
Then we got stuck on the highway for a two hours traffic delay as we were leaving France getting into Belgium towards Bruxelles. Both "Alex" - my GPS - and Clio's TomTom couldn't provide any detour solution and we were beginning to wonder if we were going to sleep in the car. In the end we got going and arrived at Dinant at 7 pm. Checked in at the Ibis Hotel, which is a pleasant surprise. Located on the canal, about 700 meters from the town centre. We left our luggage in the room and immediately walked the promenade along the canal, towards the centre with its Romanesque style church sitting below the rocky hill on top of which lies the citadel. We had dinner at the Cafe Leffe, recommended by the hotel guy, another good choice (and of course had a couple glasses of good Leffe). Dinant is very beautiful, it even exceeds my expectations. As I'm writing this, I am sitting on the patio of the hotel having some pints of Stella, overlooking the canal. If you've never been to Dinant, definitely put it on your Belgium list, together with Brugge. Well, it's now dark so time to call it a day.

Very much enjoying your TR!

Loved Dinant! I decided I had to go there after seeing a photo of the church and citadel above it from across the river.

Hi Pinbud, I must admit that at first I thought your itinerary was insane and I felt slightly exhausted just reading it :) but all credit to you and I'm enjoying reading your report.

Day 7 - July 10
After breakfast, before checking out, we walked again to the city centre and took the cable car up to the Citadel (on the way back we took the stairs - 408 steep steps). The visit costs about 14 euros total for one adult and one child and includes the funicular and visiting the fortress with a guide. Our guide, of a large group of people, only spoke French and Flemish but he handed us out a leaflet in English about Dinant, the Citadel and its violent history.
On the way to Frankfurt - about 4 hrs drive - we stopped for lunch at a lovely restaurant called Blockhaus. I don't even know its exact location but I saw it from a roundabout in a nice forest and I made the sudden decision that I wanted soup. We had tomato soup, a schnitzel, and frikadeller (a big meatball) with fries and gravy. Good stuff.
By 5 we were at Parkhotel in Hattersheim, a small city close to the Frankfurt airport. Very good and clean hotel, large room, bathroom and balcony, but the best is its location in Am Markt, a piazza with restaurant terrasses, cafes, and a couple ice-cream shops. We spent all evening there enjoing some beverages. And finally some English channels on tv: BBC, CNN, and Eurosport I think (no FoxNews unfortunatelly)
Tomorrow we pick up mom from terminal 2.

I stayed at that Ibis in Dinant -- very nice. Not enough people go to Dinant, which is perhaps what makes it even lovelier.